Cyclanthera explodens
Naudin
Artillery cyclanthera, Exploding cucumber
CucurbitaceaeFruit
iNaturalist · cc0
no rights reserved
no rights reserved
iNaturalist · cc0
no rights reserved
no rights reserved
iNaturalist · cc0
no rights reserved
no rights reserved
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit
The fruit can be used raw when small (less than 2 cm) in salads, or cooked when mature (2.5 cm, exploded).
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It cannot tolerate frost.
Andes, Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, South America,
How to Identify
A pumpkin family plant. The vines are 3-5 m long. The flowers are very small and yellow and in clusters . Male and female clusters are separate on the same plant. The fruit are spiny and 5 cm long. The extensions on the fruit can explode when ripe.
How to Grow
Plants can be grown from seeds.
Production
It grows quickly.
Names & Synonyms
Pepino diablito, X-ch'ima mo'
References (5)
- Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot. ser. 4, 12:160. 1859
- Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 87
- Hermandez Bermejo, J.E., and Leon, J. (Eds.), 1994, Neglected Crops. 1492 from a different perspective. FAO Plant Production and Protection Series No 26. FAO, Rome. p18
- Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 288
- Robinson, R.W., & Decker-Walters, D.S., Cucurbits. CAB International p
